MOUNTAINS IN THE WATER
Blea Tarn, Cumbria
could use a picture of Blea Tarn to illustrate almost any season, because it never looks less than sumptuous. But in autumn its reflective power (most physical and metaphysical) is amplified. That perfect frame, with the Langdale Pikes hovering between Rakerigg and Side Pike, becomes deeper. The crags of Harrison Stickle and Pike o’ Stickle get growlier. And if you get here on a still, calm day, the tarn becomes the most delicate mirror in the whole firmament of Lakeland, the golden slopes around it doubling themselves in its quiet sheen.